Despite this, many, including me and possibly even the hairdryer owning Scot himself, may be surprised to learn that if you type “fergie” into google.co.uk/images he doesn’t appear on the first few pages of images proffered by the search engine. It seems a certain Stacy Ann Ferguson (also a.k.a. Fergie) is much more sought after visually.

In good news for Fergie’s replacement (@ Manchester United, not the Black Eyed Peas), a search for ‘Moysie’ returns a couple of images of David Moyes in the first few rows, despite it being a nickname not yet commonly associated with Mr Moyes.

Tak perlu dipertanyakan, kabar pengunduran diri yang dicanangkan oleh Sir Alex Ferguson dan Paul Scholes (untuk kedua kalinya) jelas menjadi kabar yang menyesakkan bagi saya, yang cukup mengagumi club tempat mereka bernaung, yaitu Manchester United.

Apalagi sih yang bisa saya minta dari mereka sebagai seorang penggemar Manchester United? Saya, yang sedari lahir hanya pernah melihat Manchester United dilatih oleh seorang Sir Alex Ferguson, tentunya akan segera merasa sangat kagok ketika musim kompetisi sepakbola 2013/2014 dimulai esok. Ketiadaan sosok yang hampir setiap hari terpajang wajahnya di kolom koran olahraga langganan saya ini jelas sebuah kehilangan besar, sebuah keadaan yang bahkan dalam dua-tiga tahun terakhir tak pernah termimpikan saking abadinya nama Sir Alex Ferguson di benak pendukung The Red Devils. Saya pun yakin banyak pemain Manchester United sendiri yang pasti merasa canggung dengan keadaan yang cepat-lambat akan mereka temui itu, bahkan mungkin beberapa dari mereka pernah berpikir bahwa mereka akan pensiun dalam keadaan masih dilatih seorang Sir Alex Ferguson.

Paul Scholes? Saya juga tidak perlu menjelaskan panjang-lebar tentang mengapa orang ini sangat saya kagumi. Mungkin anda cukup googling tentang bagaimana pandangan para aktor-aktor dunia sepakbola lainnya mengenai Paul Scholes, satu hal yang bisa ditarik dari perkataan mereka semua adalah bahwa Paul Scholes adalah pemain yang sangat-sangat luar biasa.
Mungkin ini sedikit berlebihan, namun jujur saja setiap menonton pertandingan Manchester United di layar kaca ketika Paul Scholes bermain, 80% perhatian saya akan tertuju hanya kepada pemain yang satu ini.

Sebuah malam yang panjang pun akan selalu bertemu secercah subuh pada titik nadirnya. Terima kasih Sir Alex Ferguson. Terima kasih Paul Scholes.
Thanks for all the memories, tough guy!

More retro football posters available here.

Alex Ferguson, manager of Manchester United F.C. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Scottish-born Ferguson was a manager who knew exactly what he wanted from his squad, even if his methods of ensuring the continuing unbridled success of Manchester’s number one clubs caused some controversies. Players feared his “hairdryer” treatment and his anger-fuelled rants in the dressing room, but they also had immense respect for him as a more-than-capable leader, steadfastly devoted to the success of Man U. Not since the golden era of the Busby Boys in the Fifties had Manchester United achieved so much. Ferguson’s unique management style brought out the best in such big-name football stars as Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo. He helped bring United from the doldrums that caused the team to sag to the bottom of the tables in the 1970′s, steering the team through victory after victory, trophy after trophy. Ferguson had his eye constantly ‘on the ball’, developing player talents and spending big cheques and transfer fees, all of which soon poised United as the go-to team for professional footballers all over. His successes gained millions of loyal fans chanting “Glory, glory, Man United” . A simple chant that reverberated from the home crowd in the stands of Old Trafford and from thousands of miles away – from the bustling metropolises of the People’s Republic of China to the sun-kissed beaches of Mauritius. A whole generation of these fans have only ever known Sir Alex, and his sudden retirement at the age of 71 in preparation for a hip operation has been a huge shock to the world of football.

Old Trafford (Photo credit: edwin.11)

Fergie was living the dream and proved that you could be successful regardless of where you came from. It took a special kind of hard work and sacred dedication to the religion of football that propelled a working-class boy from the tough neighbourhood of Govan in Glasgow, to cross borders and social classes to become one of the best bosses in the sport, charting the fortunes of a top-flight English club. When other teams were hiring and firing their managers at the drop of a hat, Fergie was never in doubt of the future of his illustrious career, as the Manchester United cabinet swelled to the rafters with silverware. From playing in the Glasgow streets to guiding his boys as they ran across the hallowed turf of Old Trafford, Fergie had that charisma and determined grit not seen there since Sir Matt Busby a generation before him. His earthy language and close-to-the-bone humour brought him to the level of the younger Jose Mourinho, and just like the “Special One”, Fergie’s pearls of wisdom were highly sought after by the red-top press. Even before his career at Old Trafford had begun, he had already scored a European title while managing his previous club, Aberdeen. Although it took him a few years to replicate that success at Manchester, by 1990, accolades and titles soon were the hallmark of Fergie’s days at work. That the Red Devils’ then owners were prepared to give Fergie the benefit of the doubt even in his less-than-fruitful twilight days showed how much faith they had in him to deliver the silver. He frustrated Liverpool’s mission to be the club with the most titles and  ended Merseyside domination of the beautiful game. His superb set of players frustrated other top teams and coaches, most notably Londoner sides Arsenal and Chelsea, and even held back fiercely rivalled fellow Mancunian side Manchester City from establishing themselves as forces.

(c) Manchester United Facebook page

The Manchester United Facebook page published a special image of Sir Alex Ferguson as its cover photo as he calls time on an eventful 26-year career.

Sir Alex Ferguson will step down as manager at the end of the current season, to be replaced by David Moyes, who is currently with Everton with an 11-year stretch under his belt. His last game as manager will take place against West Bromwich on May 19 2013, before Ferguson takes on a new role as a club director and ambassador.

Fergie’s career as manager presided over an astonishing 894 games won, netting a total of thirty-eight trophies spanning from 1990 to 2013. The impressive haul included:

• 13 Premier League trophies
• 5 FA Cups
• 4 League Cups
• 2 UEFA Champions League cups
• and one each from Cup Winners’ Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, UEFA Super Cup and Inter-Continental Cup tournaments
• along with 10 Community Shields.

During more than a quarter of a century, Sir Alex turned around the fortunes of Manchester United and made it into a global power finding himself as one of British football’s most successful well-known managers. Upon announcing his retirement last Wednesday, Ferguson stated “The decision to retire is one that I have thought a great deal about and one that I have not taken lightly…It is the right time”. Ferguson’s career won him respect across the board. Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore commented “His drive, ambition, skill, passion and vision have not only shaped Manchester United, but in many ways the game of football as we now know it“. His ability to sniff out the best in footballing talent and mould his acquisitions from other top clubs into world-class sportsman earned him grudging respect even from rival teams and their managers, many wishing they had his magic touch. Under his legacy, Manchester United is now listed on stock exchanges and earns a multi-million pound revenue from the sales of football strips, sponsorship and memorabilia alone. The club is now believed to be worth around US$3.2 billion as one of the world’s most high-profile sports brands. 

Fergie first spilled the beans on his impending retirement during a corporate golf match. Upon officially stating his departure from the most desired of management positions in football, a flurry of tributes and platitudes from other major personalities in football’s higher echelons paid homage to him. Sepp Blatter, president of FIFA and no stranger to controversy himself, tweeted that Ferguson’s achievements “…in the game place him without doubt as one of the `greats’ “. UEFA president Michel Platini hailed Ferguson as one of football’s “true visionaries“. Outside of the footballing world, even the UK government applauded him. The announcement grabbed the British media spotlight from the buildup to the State Opening of Parliament, where Queen Elizabeth II, who knighted Ferguson in 1999, was setting out the government’s planned legislation. Prime Minister David Cameron, a member of the Conservative Party, hailed Ferguson as “a remarkable man in British football who has had an extraordinary, successful career.

As passionate as Ferguson was about the game and the team, his notorious Glaswegian temper meant a youth fighting with other boys on the streets and then as manager one that exploded when his players were not performing up to scratch. His ‘hairdryer’ treatment sent shivers running down the spines of his charges – a stream of in-your-face invective said to make one’s hair stand on end. At pitch-side, photographers were never short of pictures of Ferguson storming  the sidelines, his reddened face etched in anger and frustration with fists firmly clenched. He would be irked by not just the eleven players on the turf, but also club officials, referees, rival coaches and the media, with whom he had a classic love-hate relationship. He would ban reporters from further interviews with him if they published anything or asked any questions that riled him.

In one infamous 2004 incident – dubbed ‘Pizzagate’ – Ferguson was said to have hurled a slice of pizza across the changing room or near the tunnel in a heated exchange with Arsenal. In another involving former Los Angeles Galaxy star David Beckham, Sir Alex, furious at a poor performance against Arsenal lashed out, kicking a boot across the changing rooms that struck Beckham above the eye. This led to bad blood between the two, and tension between David and his wife, former Spice Girl and singer Victoria, and eventually was sold to Real Madrid. Ferguson was allegedly fed up with Beckham’s celebrity lifestyle. Despite this, Beckham who is now back from the United States and playing for French side Paris Saint-Germain said on a Facebook tribute to his ex-manager, “The boss wasn’t just the greatest and best manager I ever played under he was also a father figure to me from the moment I arrived at the club at the age of 11 until the day I left,…Without him I would never have achieved what I have done in my career…He understood how important it was to play for your country and he knew how much it meant to me.“

Ferguson not only made an impact in football, he even changed its lexicon. He introduced the phrase “squeaky bum time” to describe the tense feeling noticeable at the finale of the season. Receiving additional minutes by a referee at the end of match stoppage time became known as getting a bit of “Fergie Time”, especially as that was when United’s strikers would sink in a killer coup-de-grace of a goal, a sweet speciality that Fergie adored.

Sir Alex Ferguson (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Now that Ferguson has quit the dugout for good, Manchester United, especially its players must face the challenge of life without the Scotsman. David Moyes, who was especially chosen by Sir Alex himself, above the widely expected favourite Jose Mourinho, will be the successor to Fergie’s enviable legacy. A fellow Scot who comes from the same city as Ferguson, Moyes has managed Everton for just over a decade and while he has not delivered much in the way of trophies there, he has held together a tight team on a budget far smaller than the tens of millions at United’s disposal. Ferguson enjoys a long-standing relationship with his successor, and last year described him as a “first-class manager”. However it is a tough calling to fill the boots of someone as accomplished as Sir Alex Ferguson – and it will be a strong challenge for Moyes to keep the Red Glory flowing and to satisfy fans who have only ever known success. 

In honour of Ferguson’s colourful 26 years at the helm of United, here is a selection of some of his finest (and most controversial) quotes and one-liners.

On Ryan Giggs ”I remember the first time I saw him. He was 13 and just floated over the ground like a cocker spaniel chasing a piece of silver paper in the wind.“

On Gary Neville ”If he was an inch taller he’d be the best centre-half in Britain. His father is 6ft 2in – I’d check the milkman.“

On Italians ”When an Italian tells me it’s pasta on the plate I check under the sauce to make sure. They are the inventors of the smokescreen.“

On the 1999 Champions League triumph ”I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it. Football. Bloody hell.“

On Liverpool ”My greatest challenge is not what’s happening at the moment, my greatest challenge was knocking Liverpool right off their f*****g perch. And you can print that.“

On Arsène Wenger ”They say he’s an intelligent man, right? Speaks five languages. I’ve got a 15-year-old boy from the Ivory Coast who speaks five languages!“

On the referee Alan Wiley ”The pace of the game demanded a referee who was fit. It is an indictment of our game. You see referees abroad who are as fit as butcher’s dogs. We have some who are fit. He wasn’t fit. He was taking 30 seconds to book a player. He was needing a rest. It was ridiculous.“

On José Mourinho ”He was certainly full of it, calling me boss and big man when we had our post-match drink after the first leg. But it would help if his greetings were accompanied by a decent glass of wine. What he gave me was paint-stripper.“

On whether Liverpool would win the title in 2007 ”You must be joking. Do I look as if I’m a masochist ready to cut myself? How does relegation sound instead?“

On Old Trafford ”The crowd were dead. It was like a funeral out there.“

On Manchester City’s Carlos Tévez poster “It’s City, isn’t it? They are a small club, with a small mentality. All they can talk about is Manchester United, that’s all they’ve done and they can’t get away from it.“

On City again ”Sometimes you have a noisy neighbour. You cannot do anything about that. They will always be noisy. You just have to get on with your life, put your television on and turn it up a bit louder.“

On Wayne Rooney’s transfer request ”Sometimes you look in a field and you see a cow and you think it’s a better cow than the one you’ve got in your own field. It’s a fact. Right? And it never really works out that way.“

On Manchester United’s 19th league title “It’s not so much passing Liverpool. It’s more important that United are the best team in the country in terms of winning titles.”

And on their 20th ”Look at me – it’s taken 10 years off me today. It’s these tablets, they’re great!”

Fergie on United’s infamous grey kit, following United’s loss to Southampton in 1996.“The players couldn’t pick each other out. They said it was difficult to see their team-mates at distance when they lifted their heads. It was nothing to do with superstition. This club went 26 years without winning the league and we didn’t think about changing the red shirts. It’s nothing to do with that at all.”

Commenting on the change in David Beckham after his departure to Real Madrid in 2003.“He was blessed with great stamina, the best of all the players I’ve had here. After training, he’d always be practising, practising, ­practising. But his life changed when he met his wife. She’s in pop and David got another image. He’s developed this ‘fashion thing’ – I saw his transition to a different person.”

Giving it both barrels to Arsene Wenger after Pizzagate, 2004.“In the tunnel Wenger was criticising my players, calling them cheats, so I told him to leave them alone and behave himself. To not apologise for the behaviour of the players to another manager is unthinkable. It’s a disgrace, but I don’t expect Wenger to ever apologise, he’s that type of person.”

Many thanks to Sunny Atwal for suggesting today’s article…and to Sir Alex Ferguson, I wish you the best in your retirement and future endeavours. Thank you.

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Related articles

• Ferguson a father figure – Beckham (bbc.co.uk)
• Alex Ferguson retires: 10 best of the web tributes to the Manchester United manager (telegraph.co.uk)
• Alex Ferguson tributes as Man Utd manager retires (thesun.co.uk)
• Live: Sir Alex Ferguson to retire at end of season (manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
• Sir Alex Ferguson: The best there ever was (playupsports.wordpress.com)
• Manchester United: Sir Alex Ferguson Reportedly Considering Retirement (soccerwithoutlimits.com)
• Alex Ferguson: his career in numbers (guardian.co.uk)
• Man Utd: Why The Great Sir Alex Ferguson Could Leave Behind a Poisoned Chalice (football-talk.co.uk)
• Obsession. Commitment. Fanaticism.- A Tribute to the great Alex Ferguson (footballlens.wordpress.com)
• Farewell Fergie (klausjnr.wordpress.com)

SOURCES:

“Alex Ferguson retires” – The Sun – Football (8 May 2013) LINK

“Alex Ferguson retires: his major achievements in graphics” – Mark Oliver, The Telegraph (8 May 2013) LINK

“Sir Alex Ferguson: A career of achievement at Manchester United” – 3 News/MediaWorks TV (9 May 2013) LINK

“Sir Alex Ferguson’s best quotes” – The Guardian (8 May 2013) LINK

“Classic Sir Alex Ferguson quotes: From squeaky bums to noisy neighbours” – Simon Head, Mirror Football (8 May 2013) LINK

IMAGE CREDIT:

Manchester United Official Facebook fan page (8 May 2013) LINK

26 Mei 1999,
Final Liga Champions, stadion Camp Nou, Barcelona

Pertandingan memasuki menit ke 90, situasi yang gawat untuk Manchester United. Kedudukan 1 – 0 untuk keunggulan Bayern Muenchen. Kehilangan Paul Scholes dan Roy Keane di pertandingan ini menyisakan kepincangan di lapangan tengah anak asuh Fergie.

Sepuluh menit yang lalu pelatih Muenchen Otmar Hitzfield menarik keluar Lothar Mattheus. Pengalaman 13 tahun melatih United memberikan isyarat bagi Fergie untuk mengganti Andy Cole dengan “Supersub” Ole Gunnar Solskjaer tepat 1 menit sesudahnya. Dia tahu barisan belakang lawan kehilangan jendralnya.

Official pertandingan baru saja memberi tanda bahwa injury time 3 menit yang bertepatan dengan tendangan sudut untuk United. Di pinggir lapangan kubu Bayern Muenchen bersiap untuk berpesta, sementara wajah cemas menghiasi bench Manchester United.
Tendangan Beckham melayang ke arah Dwight Yorke yang mengirim umpan mengarah ke Ryan Giggs. Tendangan kaki kanan Giggs terlalu lemah, tetapi bola jatuh ke kaki Teddy Sheringham. Sentuhan kakinya berhasil merobek gawang Oliver Kahn. Skor imbang 1- 1.

Belum ada 30 detik setelah bola bergulir dari titik tengah, United kembali mendapatkan tendangan sudut. Tendangan melengkung beckham tepat mengenai kepala Teddy Sheringham dan berhasil mengubah arah bola menuju ke kaki Solskjaer yang tidak terkawal. Sekali sontek bola menghujam ke gawang Muenchen, 1 – 2 untuk keunggulan United.

Tak lama kemudian Pierluigi Collina meniup peluit tanda berakhirnya pertandingan, seketika stadion Camp Nou bergemuruh, Peter Schmeichel meluapkan emosinya dengan suka cita, sementara di sisi lain lapangan Samuel Kuffour menangis, Lothar Matheus terduduk seakan tak percaya dengan apa yang terjadi. Di pinggir lapangan Alex Ferguson bergumam “Football, bloody Hell”…

Keberhasilan meraih juara Liga Champions mengukuhkan Manchester United meraih treble winner di tahun itu setelah sebelumnya memastikan menjadi juara Liga Inggris serta memenangi piala FA.

Pengalaman menangani tim yang sama selama puluhan tahun menjadikan Alex Ferguson sangat expert di bidangnya. Dia tahu betul bagaimana memilih pemain bertalenta luar biasa untuk menjadi squadnya. David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, dan Christiano Ronaldo contohnya.

Akhir musim ini Alex Ferguson memutuskan pensiun dari dunia Sepakbola setelah melatih United selama 27 tahun. Dunia yang membesarkan namanya menjadi legenda “The Red Devils” Manchester United. Sejarah akan mencatat namanya sebagai Pelatih dengan 38 gelar dalam semua kompetisi yang pernah diikuti. Penggantinya David Moyes memikul tanggung jawab yang berat untuk meracik tim ini. Dan kelak sejarah akan mencatat apakah David Moyes dapat mengikuti kesuksesan Sir Alex atau sebaliknya.

Selamat Jalan Sir Alex Ferguson dan terima kasih telah memberikan hiburan bagi para penggemar sepakbola di seluruh dunia.

Cibinong, 12 mei 2013

Di olah dari berbagai sumber.

Ferguson managed East Stirlingshire and St. Mirren before a highly successful period as manager of Aberdeen. After briefly managingScotland following the death of Jock Stein, he was appointed manager of Manchester United in November 1986.

Ferguson is the longest serving manager of Manchester United, overtaking Sir Matt Busby‘s record on 19 December 2010, and the longest serving of all current League managers. He has won many awards and holds many records including winning Manager of the Year most times in British football history. In 2008, he became the third British manager to win the European Cup on more than one occasion. He was knighted in 1999 for his services to the game and also holds the Freedom of the City of Aberdeen.

On 8 May 2013, Ferguson announced his retirement as manager of Manchester United. During his 26 years at the club, he won 38 trophies, including 13 Premier League and two UEFA Champions League titles.

However my ignorance has not stopped my mounting excitement for what is looking to be the film of the year. Hitting cinema’s next week keep a look out for 20′s Gatsby style parties – I definitely am.

While I tip my hat to the people behind the adverts for doing a fantastic job at selling a story I’m dying to see while having no idea what it is actually about, the main draw for me has been the soundtrack. This is of course, so far. I have no doubts that I will fall in love when I finally watch it.

Music has always been part of movies however recently they seem to have taken on a life of their own. Within the last few years the soundtrack to a film can be as big as a draw as the actual storyline – sometimes even more so.

The Great Gatsby soundtrack is even more special with some of world’s best musicians providing attitude and feeling to match the epic storyline.

No doubt you’ve already heard some, if not all, of the soundtrack but here it is anyway:

1. 100$ Bill – Jay-Z (0:05)
2. Back to Black – Beyoncé ft Andre 3000 (3:23)
(!) 3. Bang Bang – will.i.am (6:45) ~Sorry.Removed.Copyrights.~
4. A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got) – Fergie, Q Tip & GoonRock (11:27)
5. Young And Beautiful – Lana Del Rey (15:30)
6. Love Is The Drug – Bryan Ferry with The Bryan Ferry Orchestra (19:27)
7. Over The Love – Florence & The Machine (22:12)
8. Where The Wind Blows – Coco O. of Quadron (26:37)
9. Crazy in Love – Emeli Sandé and The Bryan Ferry Orchestra (30:27)
10. Together – The xx (33:23)
11. Hearts A Mess – Gotye (38:51)
12. Love Is Blindness – Jack White (44:57)
(!) 13. Into the Past – Nero (48:17) ~Sorry.Removed.Copyrights.~
14. Kill and Run – Sia (53:37)

My favourite would be between Beyonce’s Back to Black or Florence and the Machine’s Over the Love – I can’t decide!

Can MOYES do a FERGIE????

There are countless ways you could choose to prove how football has changed irrevocably since Sir Alex Ferguson walked into Old Trafford.

In 1986 the Red Devils were in the wilderness, English teams were banned from Europe, players were locked into pubs on weekday afternoons and fans were caged into terraces on a Saturday (Sunday, Monday and Thursday had yet to be invented).

But two changes stand out as David Moyes steps into Fergie’s shoes: The way his retirement was reported on Sky Sports News (ah, there’s another one). Football finance experts (and another) questioned the effect on the brand (and another) with this question: “Due to the sensitivity of the share price, will United plc have to announce a successor before the New York Stock Exchange opens?

Imagine hearing that in 1986? But imagine hearing Evertonians outside Goodison telling Sky that no-one could begrudge David Moyes leaving their club for a much bigger club down the road.

Back then, Everton were top of the league, on course for their ninth title, which was two more than Manchester United had won in their history.

A United who sat in the bottom four along with Manchester City and Chelsea (that’s right, kids) and comfortably behind the likes of Luton, Wimbledon, Oxford and Coventry.

No wonder it took Fergie seven years to begin to knock Liverpool off their effin’ perch. To even think of it at the time showed remarkable self-belief when nobody gave you much chance of winning one, let alone 13 titles. It’s an era of achievements that will never be matched by another manager.

But Moyes’ task of keeping United on their perch, in an era when, as City and Chelsea have shown, titles can be bought, is one even Hercules would wince at.

Fergie is right to say he has left “the organisation in the strongest possible shape”. Manchester United plc could hardly be stronger. But has he left the strongest possible squad, especially if  Wayne Rooney goes?

There is some great young talent there, but Fergie won this year’s title through beating Manchester City to Robin van Persie (who turns 30 in August) and through his own experience, presence and sheer bloody willpower.

Could Moyes have persuaded Van Persie to shun greater riches to play for him? Does he possess the aura and knowledge to keep winning key points in tight matches?

How will he cope at first, learning about a new set of players, Champions League football and an entirely different set of expectations from what he’s been used to?

Especially with a resurgent Chelsea and City?

Expectations at United have gone from getting in to the top six and winning the FA Cup when Fergie arrived, to winning the title every year and reaching a Champions League final every three.

And as decent a manager as Moyes is, nothing in his CV suggests he’s up to that.

Whether he will still be at Old Trafford in two years time is far from certain.

But what is certain with his appointment, and the time it will take for him to get to grips with the enormity of the job, that perch is very much up for grabs again.

It is not a secret that Cara Delevingne- the fresh inspiration of the fashion world and THE role model of edgy and bold girls- is truly inlove and loyal to DimePiece. She could be spotted looking as sexy as ever with, for sure, most trendy tops of the LA brand.

I spent some time sad.  I spent some time really angry.  I’ve spent time venting to many of you and wondering why things are sometimes so hard.  Thank you for listening and for offering a huge variety of sound advice.

Travis and I were driving to lunch earlier today and Fergie came on and as I belted out the lyrics at the top of my lungs, something clicked.  Yes, I need some time to heal now, but we have so many chances and so many opportunities to change the lives of children that truly need a family that loves them.  I could write a thousand words about my feelings, but instead, I’m going to share some lyrics and some pictures.

I hope you know, I hope you know
That this has nothing to do with you
It’s personal, myself and I
We’ve got some straightenin’ out to do

Mashala – Age 9
She loves to swim, shop, listen to music and sing.
She needs a forever family that understands abuse and neglect and that can provide her with a safe and happy life.

And I’m gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket
But I’ve got to get a move on with my life
It’s time to be a big girl now
And big girls don’t cry

Ryan and Rick
Ages 14 and 9
They like to fish, climb trees and be outside. Both love school, specifically science and history.

Don’t cry
Don’t cry
Don’t cry

The path that I’m walking
I must go alone
I must take the baby steps till I’m full grown, full grown
Fairy tales don’t always have a happy ending, do they?
And I foresee the dark ahead if I stay

Like the little school mate in the school yard
We’ll play jacks and Uno cards
I’ll be your best friend, and you’ll be mine
Valentine

This is Ashley
She is 13
She likes listening to music, hanging out with her friends and shopping. She runs on her school’s track team.

Yes, you can hold my hand if you want to
‘Cause I want to hold yours too
We’ll be playmates, and share our secret worlds
But it’s time for me to go home
It’s getting late and dark outside

This is Autumn. She’s 13 years old. She has a wonderful sense of humor. She’s dealt with a lot in her young life and needs a family that will help her to continue to recover from her abuse.
She loves animals and wants to have a kitten of her very own.

I need to be with myself and center
Clarity, peace, serenity

Don’t cry
Don’t cry
Don’t cry

La da da da da da

I don’t know if we’ll adopt or not.  I don’t pretend to know what tomorrow will bring.  Today, I am content knowing that we are an amazing strong couple, and that if and when we choose to, we will be great parents.

You excited for this movie? CAUSE I AM. As a friend on facebook bravely stated earlier today, “Everyone [is] getting pumped for a movie based on a book they never read that was published in the 1920′s.” – isn’t this how the movie industry works these days? Someone writes a book – and they film it with a star and some sweet music. I don’t mind this at all – considering ‘The Great Gatsby’ will feature the great Leonardo Di Caprio (BABE) and some sweet music by Beyoncé, André 3000, FERGIE OMG, The XX, Lana Del Rey, Florence + The Machine.. need I say more?

Because I love you, I found the soundtrack on SOUNDCLOUD through another dear fb friend Deighna. Thanks Deighna – without you I’d have no idea Fergie is back..

ENJOY

THE GREAT GATSBY SOUNDTRACK

• Jay Z – 100$ Bill
• Beyoncé and André 3000 – Back to Back
• Will.i.am -Bang Bang
• Fergie – A Little Party Never Hurt Nobody (All We Got)
• Lana Del Rey – Young and Beautiful
• Bryan Ferry – Love Is The Drug
• Coco O. – Where The Wind Blows
• Emeli Sandé and The Bryan Ferry orchestra – Crazy In Love
• The XX – Together
• Gotye – Hearts A Mess
• Jack White – Love Is Blindness
• Nero – Into The Past

//Font: Sucata Spacial – Fabrika De Typos

Every great piece of writing needs an underlying theme, which truly defines it and sets it apart from all that has gone before. The more astute readers amongst you will have noticed that my Tweet of the Week series is a truly great piece of writing and that its theme is clear. Its theme is narcissism. At this juncture you might expect a lesser writer to point out how insanely clever those opening sentences were, but I trust you to work it out for yourselves (despite my implicitly highlighting it there). I also trust that my genius is obvious (see – THEME!).

There is a point to that self-indulgent opening paragraph, and that’s to post-rationalise my awarding of this week’s Tweet of the Week award to myself. But first I need to build suspense – or at least that’s what I learned in my Year 9 English class. So before we get to the winning tweet, here’s an honorary mention for Paul Waugh. Paul brilliantly pointed out the perils politicians face when jumping on bandwagons:

At least I presume that’s what Ed was doing. He may just be far more upset about the whole thing than even I am:

Ed, IT’S OKAY! IT’S JUST A GAME! It’s nowhere near as important as, say, the Queen’s speech or your ever-so-slightly disappointing performance in the local elections.

Humour AND suspense. This is really great isn’t it? It’s just like Macbeth. Now it’s time for the main event. To give you some context, some colleagues and I (shout out to Stella, Clare C and Giang!) attended an event at St. Paul’s this week on the moral philosophy underpinning the financial sector. Chaired by Stephanie Flanders, it was an excellent event and I implore you all to attend the next one (I can do this without fear as I’ve already booked my ticket). I was particularly impressed by Tarek El Diwany who suggested that our interest-based financial system rewarded those who have money already. He feels that switching to a profit-based system would allow those with the best projects to be rewarded and help to alleviate socio-economic inequality. It’s an interesting notion.

Keynote speaker Lord Sidelsky ended proceedings, noting that the economy is only one facet of society and that we need to redefine success by defining quality of life and delivering against that metric. Philosophically we all agreed, but realistically it seemed impossible enough to drive us all to the pub in despair.

In said pub, I bent down to pick up change for an old man (I thought it’d be apt to perform some literal financial services given the nature of our work). When I arose so did the following winning tweet:

With that, I feel I’ve demonstrated not only my ability to be insightful and – let’s face it – hilarious. I’ve demonstrated a flair for Liz Jones style confessional writing as well. I expect your undying love and respect.

Luhrmann’s modern take delivers a piece of the 1920s to an audience far removed from an era filled with flapper fashion and jazz melodies.

But through his clear direction in re-creating the roaring 20s, Luhrmann’s film brought a 21^st-century feel due in large part to his collaboration with the rapper and the use of modern-day music.

“Jazz in 1922 was being referred to as an African-American fad,” Luhrmann told The New York Times. “Why would Fitzgerald put such ephemeral stuff, actual song lyrics, in his book? Because it made it immediate and visceral and exciting for the reader.  And when you think of an African-American street music today that’s hip-hop.”

The duo worked together to replace the jazz-saturated era with hip-hop, an attempt that Luhrmann says was made for moviegoers to better experience what it would have been like to attend the lavish, old-school parties.

In doing so, Luhrmann and Jay-Z designed a soundtrack booming with the work of contemporary artists like Kanye West, Beyonce and Andre 3000.

Music powers parties, scandalous scenes

The film — which stars Leonardo DiCaprio as “Jay Gatsby,” Tobey Maguire as “Nick Carraway” and Carey Mulligan as “Daisy” — captures the well-crafted words of Fitzgerald and the elaborate and emotional character of the complex Gatsby.

The parties throughout the film are wild, but they also play an important role in the scheme of Gatsby’s plan to reunite with Daisy.

In the scandalous scenes, alcohol is poured, half-naked women prance around and everyone dances and moves in tune with the lively music, something Luhrmann says were key moments of the film.

Jay-Z song delivers excitement

The similarities between jazz and hip-hop are made even clearer as Luhrmann tactfully chooses songs that reflect the spirit of the age.

At the movie’s press conference, Luhrmann described the challenge of capturing one of the film’s extravagant party takes.

With 20 minutes left before the crew wrapped up for the night, Luhrman says cameras rolled as party-goers pillow fought and paraded to jazz tunes around Gatsby’s mansion.

“We started with jazz music and only about a minute later, right in the middle of the jazz, I turned up very loudly a track called “N.I.P. (N****s in Paris),” which is a Jay-Z track which was mixed with jazz at the same time. And things took off,” Luhrman says.

A soundtrack booming with top artists

The result of Luhrmann and Jay-Z’s collaboration include scenes that boast the Grammy award-winning rapper’s songs, including some of his most popular singles like “Izzo” from his 2009 Blueprint album and his more recent release “No Church in the Wild” featuring Kanye West.

Jay-Z also included another one of his original pieces ,“$100 bill,” where the rapper draws references and similarities between himself and the great Jay Gatsby.

But it doesn’t stop there.

Beyoncé is also featured on the soundtrack and teams up with Andre 3000 to sing a reprise of Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black,” a much mellower version that has drawn critique from many listeners, including Winehouse’s father.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Carter’s own top single “Crazy in Love” was recreated by Emeli Sande in a haunting and almost unrecognizable version.

To add to the big names, former Black Eyed Peas members Fergie and will.i.am are also featured on the soundtrack in separate songs. While will.i.am raps solo in the song “Bang Bang,”  Fergie teams up with rappers Q-Tip and Goon rock on the club-banging record “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody.”

Luhrmann ‘treats the music like another star’

The soundtrack includes a variety of artists and songs with a broad range of vocals, lyrical content and beats – all the while, it helped transform classic old-school settings into modern-day extravaganzas.

Luhrmann, whose other directing film credits include Romeo and Juliet and Moulin Rouge!, is known for his elaborate touch when re-telling classic stories through a modern lens.

He proves consistency in his style yet again in delivering The Great Gatsby in 3D, an approach many critics disagree with but one that falls in line with Luhrmann’s film-making fashion.

Through it all, Luhrmann says his vision was to create an experience for viewers and his collaboration with Jay-Z  arguably helped to make a movie that exposed the influence of music and hip-hop.

“Jazz was this almost underground music at the time, like hip-hop started out. I like to think of it as a character, because it’s so interwoven into the storyline,” Jay-Z told MTV News.

“He’s [Luhrmann] seamlessly shifting different eras of music together, which I thought was a genius process. That’s one of the things Baz has a reputation for: Treating the music like another star.”

Follow Lilly Workneh @Lilly_Works

David Moyes will take over at Manchester United on July 1st

David Moyes has given his first press conference today since it was announced that he would be taking over at Manchester United at the beginning of next season after Sir Alex Ferguson retired earlier this week.

The current Everton manager explained that he had no plans to leave Goodison Park even though his contract was up in the summer, but he also said that he never considered turning down the approach from United.

“I wasn’t planning on leaving” said Moyes as he spoke to the press this afternoon. ”My contract was running out but we were planning for pre-season. All we’ve ever done is keep planning”.

Moyes, 50, would have embarked on his 11th season as manager of the Toffees, a job that he has continuously been praised for over the past decade.

He also said that he is disappointed to be leaving such a great club that has been such a big part of his life.

Moyes also paid tribute to the importance of the fans at Everton, who got behind him from the start. Asked whether he would be disappointed about any negative reaction from the  fans when they play their final home game against West Ham on Saturday, Moyes said he would understand where they were coming from.

The Scot is set to take over at Manchester United on the 1st of July, having penned a six-year deal on Thursday. Ferguson told the media that he had recommended Moyes to the board, who had unanimously agreed with the appointment.

There has also been a positive reaction from the United players regarding Moyes taking over, including from Rio Ferdinand who said he was “delighted” and thought it was “important that the club made a swift decision and got it sorted out before people could start making rumours”.

Speaking to MUTV, Ferdinand also said that “Moyes is a very honest man and they’ve never had a problem with him at United”.

“He has a great work ethic and they (Ferguson and Moyes) have a lot of similarities in that sense”.

Ferguson’s decision to retire took the footballing world by shock on Wednesday and plenty of well-known names paid tribute to the 71-year-old’s career, who won a remarkable 38 trophies during his 26 year reign at Manchester United.

Ferguson will remain part of the United team, taking on the role of director and ambassador for the club.

He will stay in charge for his last ever home game against Swansea on Sunday, and his last ever game as United manager against Steve Clarke’s West Brom side on the 19th of May.

This is my first EVER blog, and it’s quite exciting really. I’ve been meaning to start a blog (possibly weekly, more probably bi-monthly, or even MORE probably just when anything big happens to me or in my life). i think I finally got spurred on to start writing a blog after the huge news which occurred back on Wednesday (08/05/13) and I think I’ll get to that point later.

I’ve never really been one for English/writing etc, but in recent times I’ve started to spark a real enjoyment for talking about football; whether that be news, actual deals, paper talk or anything. I live for football and will watch any game on the telly. Whilst I appear to have many hobbies and interests, my other main one is Music. As my bio states, I’m currently in two bands and on average play 2 or 3 gigs a month. I attend so many gigs, it’s eating away at my bank balance, but I don’t care – I love it! (the gigs, not the lack of wonga in my Nationwide account.)

Right, that’s enough about me; I’ll move swiftly onto my main point of my first blog, my inspiration to actually get on with signing up here and starting this – Thank you, Sir Alex Ferguson.

I’m 18, soon to be 19, and I’ve never known anything other than Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson to be in charge, and at the forefront of my beloved United. Of course, being a huge fan, I’m always researching back into our lengthy history; but I’ve never been alive when a different manager was in charge of the current side.

My dear Mother Facebook messaged me from downstairs (what a world) at 2311 on the Tuesday night, right as I was about to go to bed, telling me that there was speculation about Fergie announcing his retirement the next day. I returned her message with a simple “naaa, night” and sunk into my pillow. Did a thought trickle into my mind? Yes, of course it did – but I cut these off and stuck on my iPod. My Dad was doing an all-night shift at work, so he got the next day off work completely, and so he couldn’t share his opinion on this speculation.

I woke up and continued the usual teenage trait, by checking my phone first thing. I found a text reading “look at the news x” and so, in true Charlie style, I went straight for the sports news. Sky Sports News is ALWAYS my choice (although with Jamie Carragher on Sky next season, I’m worried haha). There it was, in the usual golden ribbons along the bottom and side, “Rumours of SAF to retire at the end of the season”. I didn’t know what to do, I missed my bus to college so I could stay and watch what was about to unfold. Surely not, surely he isn’t going now. Pep Guardiola has just signed a 3 year deal with Bayern Munich, he’ll come after that and everything will be sad, but okay. Fergie isn’t going now, he’s run away with the league title; and we, perhaps, should’ve progressed further in the Champions League. But all in all, the Premier League had an awful season this time round, why would he leave after this?

BAM. It hit, rumours turned to reality. I didn’t know where to turn, what to do. Do I wait, do I tell my sleeping Dad, what? He came to the bottom of the stairs, just after waking up I assume, asking me if I’m actually bothering with college. I answered that question with “look at the news, Sky Sports News.” and ran back into my room. A tear came across my eye, this man and his legacy was different to everyone else. He may be “Manchester United Manager” but I think any serious football fan would agree here: Fergie is different. His spirit, or whatever it is, lifts the team in times of need; it pushes us to win and not know different. There’s something different about his managerial qualities than any other man in the world. 

I posted a Facebook status, and several Tweets. I text my Mum and one of my best friends (a fellow United fan). I slung on my retro United shirt, took my hoodie, put on my trousers, grabbed my bag and walked out the door. I was gutted all day.

And to make it worse, I saw United “fans” (used in a VERY loose term) were happy that Fergie was retiring from his post. Others were calling for Moyes to be fired (before his actual appointment) and some were even sending David Moyes death threats! What’s wrong with people?

Sky Sports News also pissed me off that day, with the news title “FERGIE QUITS!” No, he hasn’t quit – he’s retired. Christ.

Right, best stop now – I could write about this all day. Tomorrow (Saturday 11th May) I’m going to Takedown Festival, and I’m helping to run the Monster Energy Stage (second stage), which is hosting bands like: While She Sleeps, The Defiled, Hacktivist, The Algorithm, TRC, Marmozets, Tesseract and The James Cleaver Quintet. (I like ALL those bands).

That’ll probably be my next blog, so if you liked the style of this check that out! If you read this, hate football and like music, check it out. If you didn’t like anything about this and don’t want to give me a second chance, obviously don’t check it out.

Cheers for taking the time/wasting your time and reading my first blog. I’ve left a picture of Mr. Manchester United below.

Cheers,
Charlie

It’s all change at Old Trafford

Sir Alex Ferguson’s 26 years at the helm of Manchester United is one of the most remarkable feats in the history of football. There are others who have managed clubs for longer, but none could compare trophy cabinets with the Glaswegian. He has built an empire at Manchester United that has dominated the English footballing landscape for 20 years. But all empires fall; does Fergie’s retirement sound the bell for the beginning of the end of United’s hegemony or does it signal merely a passing of the torch onto incumbent David Moyes?

In football’s ruthless environment, managers who last for as long as Ferguson are rare. United clearly wish to indicate that Moyes will be given time by handing him a six-year contract. However, football is a different animal to when Ferguson first took charge, and his successes made him impervious to any consideration of departure on any terms but his own. Will the same patience be granted to a manager sure to remain in his predecessor’s shadow? Manchester United’s most recent title triumph, among others, has owed more to Ferguson’s iron will than to squad strength. There is no guarantee that Moyes’ influence can match Fergie’s. Rome was not built in a day however, and the foundations are there for United to have continued success under a manager who consistently produced impressive results with relatively inexpensive teams.

United have faced pretenders to the throne during Ferguson’s long spell. Wenger’s Invincibles and Mourinho’s Chelsea were notable exceptions to the rule, but the Scot always seemed to bounce back. Last season’s last gasp surrender to Manchester City hurt Ferguson and it seemed his last challenge was wresting the title back from the ‘noisy neighbours’. Surely other clubs have smelt blood with Ferguson’s departure and there will be managers with money behind them to trouble Red supremacy next season. Even during the current campaign, it seemed other clubs’ failures contributed more to United’s success than any of their own brilliant play.

Luiz has been a revelation this season

Manchester City’s failure to capture Robin Van Persie or improve on their title winning squad will certainly not be repeated considering the financial backing they will have in the summer. The core of the team is still a class act, and replacing some of the chaff, like the underused Scott Sinclair, with fresh talent, perhaps in the form of Edinson Cavani, could give them the edge next campaign.

Chelsea’s season was disrupted by managerial upheaval, but the quality which they possess has been evident throughout. Rafael Benitez seems to have played a tactical masterstroke by moving wild card defender David Luiz into midfield, and his creativity and steel have well supplemented the attacking prowess of the ‘Three Amigos’-Hazard, Mata, and Oscar. With plenty of money in the summer to pursue a world class striker and Wayne Rooney likely to be on the market, the Chelsea manager would have a squad capable of winning the title. As this manager will almost certainly be Jose Mourinho, many would favour the Blues for the Premier League. The north London clubs’ prospects next season may depend significantly on the final two games of the present league. Were Tottenham to pip Arsenal to fourth place it stands to reason that their multi-award winning talisman Gareth Bale would stay. Champions League football may be a double edged sword for Spurs however, as their squad would need to be bolstered to meet the demands of a premier European competition. They have a strong starting XI, but like Chelsea, have suffered due to their lack of a truly gifted striker.

Arsenal have shown resilience this season in challenging for the top four after arguably Wenger’s most troubled period at the club. There were times when many Arsenal fans were calling for the Frenchman’s head, but his team have dug in and got results, impressively dispatching 6 of their last 8 opponents. Defensive frailty and an inability to replace Van Persie’s goals will need to be rectified if Arsenal wish to be considered outside title contenders next season.

With Ferguson’s retirement, a power vacuum has emerged. Unless Moyes can settle quickly into the mammoth task that awaits him, it seems certain that United’s dominance will be broken. Which club will fill the void remains to be seen.

- TJ

I had to concede in the sense that I stated last week, rather confidently, “Alex Ferguson isn’t going to retire this year.” Embarrassing? A touch. A stupid prediction? I’m not sure. I was of the persuasion that Fergie wouldn’t leave until he had one last European glory to his name. Homeland victories aside, Sir Alex hasn’t dominated to the same extent in Europe as he did in Britain. His United side are nowhere near good enough to succeed in Europe. Here’s how Fergie’s XI stacks up against the top-four CL sides this season:

(Ordered Man Utd, Bayern, Dortmund, Real, Barca)

• GK: De Gea, Neuer, Weidenfeller, Lopez/Casillas, Valdes
• LB: Evra, Alaba, Schmelzer, Marcelo, Alba
• CB: Evans, Boateng, Hummels, Ramos, Pique
• CB: Vidic, Van Buyten, Subotic, Varane, Puyol
• RB: Rafael, Lahm, Piszczek, Arbeloa, Alves
• CM: Carrick, Schweinsteiger, Gündoğan, Alonso, Xavi
• CM: Cleverley, Kroos,Bender, Özil, Iniesta
• CM: Rooney, Martínez, Götze, Modric, Fabregas
• FW: Kagawa, Ribéry, Reus, Ronaldo, Villa
• FW: Van Persie, Müller, Lewandowski, Benzema, Messi
• FW: Valencia, Robben, Blaszczykowski, Di Maria, Sanchez

Which leaves us with:

Neuer

Lahm – Vidic – Ramos – Alaba

Götze – Gündoğan – Iniesta

Blaszczykowski – Messi – Ronaldo

- A side that’s probably worth popping a fiver on. What would you change, if anything?

—————————————————————————————————————————–

At 26 I’m now just about qualified to take a step back and reflect; be thankful for the football gods to have shined on me all these years and also to look forward with wiser and less unconditionally optimistic eyes.

Potential Suitors:

My favorites off the album are Young and Beautiful by Lana Del Rey (check out the DH orchestra version), and the Crazy In Love cover (Kid Koala Version).

This album has many talented artists, from Lana Del Rey, to Florence + The Machine, Beyoncè, Sia, Jay-z, Kanye West, Fergie and Will.I.am.

Gotye, The xx, Emèli Sande, Coco O., and Nero are all also part of the album, with some ballads, such as Hearts A Mess by gotye, and Techno songs such as Into The Past by Nero.

The album is wonderful and has a pretty wide variety of music that displays the theme of Gatsby pretty well. I’m very excited to see the movie next weekend, but it is out in theaters today, for anyone who wants to see it!